Code
by BalletGirl537
Summary: Ratchet and Clank enter a new world beyond anything they've ever experienced. And the only way to live is also the only way to die.
1. Streaming

**Ratchet and Clank: "Code"**

Ch.1- Streaming

The small starship shot through the cosmos, not going in any real direction with any true urgency. Just cruising along until it found its next stop. The passengers in the starship were in no hurry either; there were two, and they sat with their feet kicked up on the dashboard. The two gazed at the windshield that, for now, was being used as a giant screen. Today was a very exciting day. The day that ElectricGames released the first look at their new game, and also, information would be revealed to if the game would be at the anticipated G5 gamers' convention.

The screen was black, but had a little circle of dots in the middle that indicated buffering. So far, the only interesting thing that happened that day was the main computer system's LiveUpdate. Which wasn't that exciting if you weren't a little tiny robot that was interested in anything technology related.

Upon finishing the final volume and quality adjustments on the screen, Ratchet the Lombax sat back in his chair giddily.

"You seem very excited, Ratchet." The little Robot Clank implied.

"Are you kidding?" Started Ratchet. "ElectricGames hasn't released a new game in _years_!" Finally, the screen illuminated, revealing a large room filled with businessmen dressed up in suits, and cameramen. The interview was about to begin.

XXXX

"Alright, welcome to the first day of G5 Meetings and Interviews with Electric Games. We're here with two people of this company who have put in all their time and money into creating what EG deems to be 'their best game yet'. This game's title has not yet been revealed, but, as Electric Games always does, teaser trailers have been released right and left to excite fans for the next game, whether it be good or bad. The release date on one of these trailers has ambiguously set to two years from now. But will it change? Good games always take longer than just a few years.

"What do you have to say about your new game? First of all, what is it called?" The interviewer opened the interview. He directed this question toward the two main designers of the game, seeing as the creator of the game was not scheduled to come to the very first interview. The game-designer on the right made a move to speak, re-adjusting his eyeglasses.

"First of all, thank you for inviting us, my partner and I are happy to be here. We've both put so much effort into making this game so far. We're using only the best quality designing tools and are one of the first companies to use the newly updated CGI animation since the last 7.65 edition. We've also created this game to be played in long-term arcades. Which, as you know, are arcades where people basically sit down at a console and play for hours on end. It's basically a game room without your mom nagging you to do your chores. No money involved. The console has a small camera on it. That's the first thing that we perfected. It's of the highest quality, made by Apple. We haven't gotten much work done on it, but we plan on using the camera to be able to monitor the player's movements, scan him, and incorporate him right into the game. He is his own character. It's like a less costly version of virtual reality. For this reason, we've decided to name the game 'Digital Drift'." After this, the interviewers and cameramen stirred, some exchanging words to one another with glee.

"So you plan on using high graphics, good CGI, and a new camera feature. How will this compare to your last game?" The interviewer asked next. The same designer drew in a breath to speak.

"Well as you know, our last game was already ahead of its time. The CGI scenes were worked on a year before the game was released. We were trying to get the graphics to be practically real, but without losing the characters' cartoonish design. That's what we plan on doing for the upcoming game. We want the world the player is in to be cartoonish, but extremely high quality. It will be a very drastic change from some of our first games. The game play will be fast paced, but not too fast. Enough so that the player can make the punching and kicking movements with realistic reaction time. Not all of us are ninjas."

"What do you mean by punching and kicking? Will this game be more active than others?"

"Yes! This time, the player will be on his/her feet. He can choose his weapon, or 'armor' if he wants to do hand-to-hand combat with enemies. This is where the camera comes into play. The camera monitors the player's movements as he punches an enemy, and also senses the quickness of the punch, and with this information it calculates the ferocity of the punch; The harder the player punches, the harder he punches in the game and the closer he is to defeating an enemy."

"That's a lot of work for you-"

"How close are you to finishing?" A new interviewer blurted out from across the room. The second game-designer stood up.

"We really teased you guys by putting out that short trailer a while back. We're actually nowhere _near_ finishing this game. We've got the consol done along with the artwork on its sides, but the coding for this game is unimaginable! We've got enemies and some levels set up, but so many of our original ideas are proving to be no good as we progress. The quality of the game is so high that the server gets clogged and it glitches. And if one thing glitches, so does another and before you know it you've got a whole level glitching up and then we have to recycle anything that's bad. We haven't really programmed proper scoring yet. So far the highest number the game can go up to is 900. Any higher than that and the game kills. So we can't have anyone test the game yet. With how many points the player can get by doing hand-to-hand combat, that score is inevitable within the few hours of playing. And we can't have the game show a kill screen, 'cause if that happens, we're ruined and have to start from scratch. It's really hard to properly program a whole consol because this time the consol has to do the math in a new way and can't process any random number like smaller home consoles can. So at this point, we're lookin' at another year or so before the game comes out."

"Then why did you put out the trailer so soon?" Another interviewer threw a question.

"Years of research and hard work that!" Said the first game-designer. "Everybody knows that when a game is really good, a teaser trailer is released way before its actual release date. We know that this game is going to be great, we know it! So we decided to release a teaser trailer with only the year of the release date on it so that people will be excited for it and know it will be a great game. It's also a push for us to complete the game on time and work hard to please our fanbase. Because we've got some frugal and needy fanboys out there."

"You said something about the game confusing itself earlier. Aren't those fatal errors caused by levels and stuff?" Said a viewer in the back of the crowd.

"Well, I'm not supposed to reveal this yet, but in the game, the player levels up by how many points he collects. Which is around every one hundred points. Pretty much like every other game we've created. But so far me and the other programmers have only created eight levels. But we've created enough enemies to surpass eight hundred points. If we let someone test it and they kill enough enemies to get nine-hundred points, the whole consol goes kapoot."

"That's just another example as to why we still have a lot of work ahead of us. One wrong move and the entire game is garbage. Even _we_ can't test it until the numbers add up. That's one of the down sides to arcade games. It's been a problem for decades." Added in the first game-designer.

"How many people will be able to play in the game?" Asked someone in the crowd.

"Well, the game is already enough work to program as it is, so it looks like we're only going to have one player so far. Maybe a co-op portion, but that's still on the drawing board."

"Will there be cutscenes?"

"Yes."

"Will ElectricGames show a cutscene or a full trailer at G5 ?" Asked one of the businessmen running the G5 convention.

"It's not likely. Most trailers have hints of the gameplay in them, and like I said, we haven't been able to test any part of the gameplay yet. We're still in the programming process. The creator _has_ agreed to put the consol on display at G5 though. There's really good artwork on the consol, so at least some die-hard fans will be able to see what or who is on the consol." The first game-designer then took off his specs, held them to the light, squinted his eyes, took his shirt and scrubbed the left lense, squinted at them again, and put them back on. One of the businessmen announced that it was time to wrap up the interview, and added that the creator would be at the second day of G5 Meetings and Interviews for more questions.

"Last question!" An interviewer said. " Have you created the final boss?" A stir among the crowd.

"As a matter of fact we have. Everybody knows that the final boss is the best part! We've put a lot of work on h-… it. We haven't given _it_ a name yet, and we don't really know it's purpose or power. All we know is half of it's story and it's design. We are reluctant, but ready to reveal that among all the other characters on the artwork of the consol, the final boss is one of them." The crowd got louder and a dozen hands rose for more questions. But the people in suits concluded the interview. The screen cut and the G5 logo was presented on the screen.

XXX

Ratchet and Clank still sat in their seats. Clank had almost gone into hibernate; Ratchet was on the edge of his chair. He was a die-hard gamer. And these game-designer guys were being too ambiguous with those questions.

"Clank, wake up. I know what we're doing tomorrow!" Ratchet said, thumping his hand on the back of Clank's head. The robot, with his eyes half opened, gazed up at the windshield-screen, still displaying the G5 convention logo in blue and white.


	2. Conventioner's Delight

**Chapter 2- Conventioner's Delight**

**XXXX**

Two figures illuminated under the 3 lanterns that gave the dark room light; the room was damp, and underground. The basement had bricks for walls and papers spilled within a 3 meter radius of the workers. One was brown with a red t-shirt, the other was overall clad and charcoal gray.

"How's the boss coming along?" The one in red asked.

"Uh, good." Said the other one with hesitation.

"What do you mean?" The first questioned, noticing the reluctant tone of his comrade.

"I mean… All of the previous games had a huge, scary looking villain. I just think the fanbase will be expecting more." Upon saying this, he saw his companion close the laptop he had been working with and look at him in complete upset.

"So after all this work-" He checked himself, then began in a more civilized tone, "Alright. For now, let's just put it in the recycle bin. We'll come back to it later if we find use for it."

"Looks like it's back to the drawing board!"

These two people were the same game-designers that were questioned so intently at the interview. After it, they went straight home to their working quarters and continued to put every second of their time into finishing the first copy. They worked in the dark. Like moles; using tiny utensils as their feelers to properly program the computer chips and furiously punching numbers into their calculators. It was almost as if their work was illegal, and for no other eyes to see but theirs.

They worked quickly too. It was three o'clock in the morning, twelve hours put into this work session so far. And thanks to this perseverance and lack of sleep, the game was ready to be turned on. For the first time. Almost two hundred hours put into the console, and now it was time. It wasn't ready to be fully tested, but just to be turned on. To test the music, to see if the graphics are really all they've cracked them up to be.

There was no other feeling like it; to put one's soul into creating a world, and then to see it come alive.

"May I do the honors?" Said the person in the red shirt. He plugged the game into the outlet.

The screen illuminated, lighting up the two silhouettes

XXXX

The G5 gamers' convention was quite the sight to see. Hundreds, maybe even thousands of interstellar gamers traveled light-years just to see one day of it. People of all ages too; the noobs to the nostalgic. From above, one would see groups of cosplayers, adults, young children, and any person related to the making of a game would be glomped or bombarded by fans. Every game company was there, but of course, ElectricGames was the one everyone spent their time at.

XXXX

Situated behind a large corridor was a large group of fans. They all had their entry tickets, their likes and dislikes, and the same exact thing they expected to see. ElectricGames was revealing the first console for their new game. No one knew what it would be like; no one even knew if it would even be good. But still, the die-hard fans would show up for anything, good or bad. And one of these die-hard fans was no other than Ratchet, who dragged along his not-so interested friend.

"This convention is crowded and rather…uncleanly. I don't see why you are so bothered to attend." Clank said, wearily watching his step as if the floor was a poisonous muck.

"Clank, this is as important to me as getting a new joint optimizer is for you." Ratchet said, pushing through bodies and looking over shoulders.

"They could have at least hired a janitor."

"Stop complaining. It was _you_ who decided to come. I didn't make you." Pointed out the Lombax as he shouldered through more gamers and fans.

" I couldn't allow you to have all the fun." Clank laughed and continued to follow Ratchet to the best of his ability. Being short was not the best when in an ocean of ravenous fanboys. He was sure he would have lost his friend if Ratchet didn't have such an obvious tail dangling close to the ground. And so Clank used this as a guide as the two grew separated in the sea of people. Unfortunately, the rumbling crowd grew too much, and Clank was kicked to the ground by someone's foot. The current did not stop, and the tiny robot felt as if he had moved one hundred miles backwards in a matter of seconds. Because of the momentum of the surrounding fans, Clank was not able to purchase his feet on the floor. And so he remained on his hands and knees, attempting to catch a glimpse of his friend's tail among the pairs of legs and feet.

Finally, oh finally, the stampede ended after an agonizingly long time of attempting not to be crushed. Standing up on his feet again, Clank now realized where he and everyone else had been trying to go. The whole group was now some meters away standing in front of large double doors.

"This must be what Ratchet was excited about." Said Clank. Clank was about to take his first step when the doors opened, causing the ground to shake. The sea was once again ravenous as the fanboys fought to get through the threshold. And surprisingly, despite how large the ocean was, it had emptied into the presentation room in less than a minute.

Clank shook himself from his state of astonishment and ran for the double doors.

XXXX

"Ratchet?" Clank called out in his soft voice, walking up and down, through and around rows of seats. Most of them were taken, and all of the people occupying the seats had their attention directed to the stage. On the stage was an item covered with a sheet, obviously the new game console.

"Ratchet, where are you?" Clank called out again. He was close to giving up and leaving, there was no use in trying to find one person among hundreds. Perhaps Ratchet would find Clank outside once the convention was over. Perhaps-

"Clank!" Ratchet called. The robot turned his head to the right, and saw Ratchet waving his hand on the other side of the row. Relieved, Clank waved back and ran over to his relocated friend.

"Where've you been?" The Lombax asked, patting the empty seat next to him, on which Clank hopped up and settled himself on.

"I got a little… sidetracked." Stated Clank. The lights dimmed and everyone directed their attention to the front of the room.

XXX

A spotlight turned on with a loud crack. Everything went silent for an awkwardly long time. Then, a young creature with gray fur [and a black suit] stepped solidly into the limelight. He cleared his throat, and raised the microphone to his mouth.

"Hello. How is everyone doing?" He asked softly. Despite the way he held himself, he spoke rather shyly. The crowd was disinterested by his question, but they all answered in unison with 'good'.

"Good, good." The speaker echoed. "Well, I am glad to introduce you to the first look of our upcoming game." The crowd applauded. "Now, if we could get a projector screen up here, we can get started."

Automatically, a large screen was lowered from the ceiling above the stage. It lit up and revealed the ElectricGames logo.

"At ElectricGames, we've been working for well over a year now, trying to perfect the storyline of the new game we are creating. We are lucky enough to have such a devoted team of artists, script-writers, game-designers, and producers!" The screen flipped through photos of the company employees doing various things. "And thanks to our hard-working team, we're ready to reveal the new game console." The crowd began to fidget and stir in excitement. The speaker strolled agonizingly slowly to the covered treasure.

"It's taken endless hours of backbreaking work and so many rough drafts it isn't even funny, but our artists have given us the best console artwork we could ever ask for." Still strolling to the sheet.

Ratchet nudged Clank with his elbow in excitement.

"So without further adieu, ElectricGames presents to you: Digital Drift!" The sheet flew off the consol in a flurry of fabric. The treasure was revealed. The crowd automatically jumped out of their seats in excitement. They danced with glee, punching the air. But they hadn't even seen the console yet. They calmed themselves down and watched the screen as it gave them a closer view.

The console was of old design. It had the usual joystick and controls of a home-console controller. A tiny camera was implanted on the top of it, so small it looked like it could be one that was on a laptop. But the color and artwork was what had everyone astonished. The paint was dark teal, so much that it was almost black. There were little stars that glowed in the background. And 5 characters were drawn onto its sides. The first one was all white. It was a human; a man. He had paper-white skin, and snow white hair. Everything about him was white. The second was what appeared to be an enemy: just a generic robot with four arms, armed with a large gun. The third was an indescribable alien holding a scepter, the fourth was a snow leopard of some sort wearing ninja-like attire, and the fifth was a king, given away by his magnificent golden crown and fluffy red cape, and not to mention the defined jaw line. Every single paint stroke was amazing, a true work of art. And if the artwork was this amazing, then the game _had_ to be.

XXXX

"Everyone was very excited at the revealing. I trust that you are satisfied?" Clank inquired as the presentation room slowly emptied.

"You've gotta be kidding! I won't sleep until that game comes out. We've got to get a closer look." Ratchet looked over his shoulder at the work of art sitting on the stage.

"But Ratchet, I do not think anyone is allowed to get close to it." Clank complained, he was quite uncomfortable in his surroundings; unclean floors and young teenagers left and right.

"I have a plan, trust me."

Once the presentation room emptied, the lights were shut off with a loud crack. The sheet was placed carefully over the console again, and it sat there, lifeless. Dust fluttered around it, coating the sheet ever so slightly, like a sprinkling of snow. The night would bring its answers.


End file.
